New York City

Published November 10, 2015

Good Luck to Our FHIT Friends Competing in the Civilian Military Combine!

On May 17, eleven members of our FHIT family will be competing in the Civilian Military Combine in the Poconos. The CMC combines 4+ miles of obstacle racing with “The PIT”. The PIT is a 5-minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) consisting of 3 exercises. Competitors must complete 5 shoulder-to-overhead (men: 45-115 lbs. and women: 26-75 lbs.) followed by 7 burpee box jumps (or burpee over box jumps) followed by 9 Russian or American Kettlebell Swings (Men: 44-53 lbs. and women: 26-35 lbs.).

As many of you know, Julia is the co-author and creator of average2athlete, a blog about her and her friend Katy’s journey to become the fitspirational athletes they are today. They joined forces with another fitfluential blogger, Powercakes to create a team of brave competitors to take on the CMC. Throughout the past few weeks the team has been meeting up all over the city to train for the challenging course.

We sat down with Julia to ask her a few questions about Saturday’s competition and her experience with the CMC in the past:

How many CMC competitions have you participated in?

Julia: I have done 2. The first was by the Intrepid in April 2013 and the second was in Brooklyn last September.

What is the most difficult part of the race?

Julia: I think the hardest part is the PIT because it’s like a FHIX. You’re pushing yourself as hard as you can with no rest. It’s an all-out effort.

What is your favorite part of the race?

Julia: The obstacle course is the most fun part. I like that everyone is all in it together and you’re just excited to see what obstacle comes next. It’s definitely not stuff you would normally get to do.

How did you recruit people for your team? How did FHIXers get involved?

Julia: We originally made a Facebook event and I invited people from the Fhitting Room to join my team. I also talked about it a lot at the studio so people started asking how they could get involved.

How does a FHIX prepare you for this type of race?

Julia: The PIT is like a FHIX – it’s high intensity and you’re going all out for 5 minutes. Also, since our classes are 50 minutes, our FHIXers’ endurance level is already prepared for the obstacle course. We incorporate strength into our workouts, which helps in parts of the obstacle course like getting over walls. The Pit also has kettlebell swings and burpees, which we’re all very familiar with at TFR!

What’s your goal for this particular CMC event?

Julia: My goal is to make sure everyone on our team finishes and has a good time. I don’t want anyone to feel nervous or that they’ll be on their own because it’s a team race.

Why do you think everyone should try a race like this if they haven’t before?

Julia: It’s something that sounds intimidating but it forces you to step outside your comfort zone. Once you finish and know you can do it, it’s a huge confidence booster and it makes you hungry for more. It’s also really important for people to have something to train for; it keeps them motivated. I have also met so many really cool and FHITspirational people through these events.

How does average2athlete play into all of this?

Julia: These events are especially awesome because all of these bloggers and people you know from social media are there. A lot of these people we only know through social media so it’s exciting to finally have everyone in the same place competing together.

Why is the CMC such a unique event?

Julia: The whole idea behind the CMC is to bring civilians and military together. When you’re doing the PIT or the race, one thing that pushes you to keep going is to remember that there are people out there who do this all time or have been through much worse. There are also so many veterans competing who have been severely injured while serving or are limited but they are still able to complete the difficult course. If you have the ability to do this, why not do it and appreciate the fact that you can?

How do you celebrate afterwards?

Julia: Everyone gets free beer afterwards. There are bands playing music, tents with different fitness vendors and mobilization tents with foam rollers and other rehab tools.

Good luck!!! Don’t forget to check back after the race to see how Julia and the entire average2athlete-Powercakes team performed!